Dominick weokeelin



D. WEGKERLIN. Side Gage for Paper Feeding Tables.

No. 240,291. Patented April 19,1881.

UNITED STATES DOMINIOK VVEOKERLIN,

PATENT OFFICE.

OF BROOKLYN, ASSIGNOR TO B. HOE & 00., on

NEW YORK, 'N. Y.

SIDE GAGE FOR PAPER-FEEDING TABLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 240,291, dated April 19, 1881.

- Application filed December 26, 1877.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DOMINIGK WEGKERLIN, of Brooklyn, New York, have invented an Improvement in Side Gages for Paper-Feed Tables, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of sheetgages which are attached to a feed-table at right angles or other position relative to front gages or mechanisms which are to operate upon the sheet, against which gages the sheet is adjusted to register it in proper position. It is important that the ends of such gages against which the sheet of paper is to be registered shall rest snugly upon the surface of the table and have such a perfect contact therewith as to leave no space into which the thin edge of the sheet may enter and thus destroy or prevent its proper register, as well as render the sheet liable to rupture when it is quickly drawn off from the feed-table or otherwise moved to or by the mechanism which is to operate upon it. This desideratum is not found in sheetgages commonly used, which consist of a single rigid piece of metal adjustably secured to the table by a clamp-screw, and depending upon the evenness of the surfaceof the table for a perfect joint of their front ends therewith. When so arranged any springing or warping of the table throws them out of perfect contact therewith and forms an open space beneath their ends, into which the edge of the sheet enters, thus disarranging its register. A form of gage constructed of spring metal, whereby its end is forced down onto the table to form a tight joint therewith, has to some extent remedied this defect; but such form of the device, besides being inconvenient to adjust, soon wears slight ridges into the surface of the table, in which the edges of the sheets engage and render it, difficult to lay them up to the gage. A side gage having a taperimg shank and adapted to be adjusted vertically in the threaded socket of an arm rigidly supported over the feed-table avoids the defective operation specified, but has its usefulness limited by the construction rendering it dependent upon a cross-bar of the machine forits sup port; and although front gages which are hung on such a bar so as to rest at times on the printing-cylinder have been made, such gages are of such construction as to prevent their use upon a feed-board by direct attachment thereto.

My improvement avoids all of these defects and provides a device which, while it may be readily adjusted, will always have its front end in perfect contact with the surface of the table, so as to leave no opening beneath it.

The invention consists, primarily, in a sheetgage constructed of a shank the bearing-face whereof is an uninterrupted plane, which shank carries a gravitating end piece that is so hung that its end or bear-in g-face may pass below the plane of the bearing-face of the shank, and thus seat itself snugly upon the face of the feed-table.

The invention also comprehends a particular construction of parts connecting the shank and end piece, whereby nice adjustments may be readily accomplished, all of which will be more particularly hereinafter pointed out.

In the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 and 2 represent, in side elevation and plan, a simple construction of this improved gage, while Figs. 3, 4, and 5 show, in side elevation, plan, and end views, a form of the device provided with means for securin g accurate adj ustments of the gravitating end piece.

Like all sheet-gages which are to be adjustably fixed upon a table or similar support, this gage is provided with a shank, 16, which is perforated by a longitudinal slot, 15, through which a clamping-screw may extend to secure the same to the support and provide for endwise adjustment. This shank 16 is upturned at its forward end to form ears 1 1, between which the arm 17, projecting from the rear side of the end piece, 8, is received, and secured by a rivet, 4, which thus provides it with a hingejoint which permits it free up-and-down movement to the extent which the wall 18 or surface of the shank against which its end abuts will allow. The bottom surface of this end piece is slightly inclined rearward, as'is common, so that its extreme forward edge shallg support, will always form a perfect contact therewith, leaving no space into which the edge of the sheet may find its way.

Sheets of paper, especially such as are thin and limp, are liable to curl up, either by floating in the air or from other cause, when they are moved singly up to gages and after they have been adjusted in place against the gages. Guards are therefore commonly placed on the front side of the end pieces, 8, to aid in guiding the edge of the sheet up to the gages and to prevent their being disarranged when so placed. It frequently becomes necessary to adjust these guards vertically according to the Wei ght of and consequent diminished tendency of the sheets to be easily disarranged, and this has been accomplished heretofore by forming the guard of a strip of metal bifurcated at its rear end to provide arms 11,

which embrace the head of a rivet, l0, and curved so that its front end, 9, is returned to be nearly incontact with the front surface of the end piece, 8, where it forms an inclined guard,which will readily guide the edge of the sheet up to the surface of said end piece and prevent any upward movement of the sheet. To render this guard readily adjustable to fixed positions, arms 11 are slightly bent, as in Fig. 3, so as to form springs bearing against the head of the rivet 10 and the surface of the end piece, thus permitting a vertical sliding movement of the guard, and yet holding it securely at any point of its adjustment without the use of a clamping-screw.

In order to provide for accurate adjustments of the end piece, it is provided with two arms, 5, as in Figs. 3, 4, 5, which embrace a plate, 3, which is adapted to slide on a projection, 13, rising at the end of the shank, and to which plate these arms are secured by the rivet 4. This plate is provided with a lug, 19, projecting upward from its rear end, into which the threaded portion of an adjusting thumb-screw, 12, is tapped, the shank of which screw rests in a recesss cut in a lug, 2, rising from the shank 16, and has two collars which embrace said lug. 13y rotating this thumb-screw the plate 3, and with it the arms 5 and end piece, 8, may be moved backward and forward to nicely adjust the position of the latter; and in order to secure the parts from displacement by the jarring of machinery or otherwise a spring-plate, 7, held to duty by a screw, 6, which fixes it to the shank 16, presses the plate 3 upon said shank. The plate 3 is slotted, as at 14, to prevent its movements being obstructed by the screw 6.

I am aware that front gages attached to a cross-rod of a printing-machine have been provided with gravitating end pieces, and therefore do not wish to be understood as claiming such end pieces, except in the construction of gage hereinbefore fully described.

What is claimed is- 1. A sheet-gage the bearing-face of whose su1.)porting-shank is an uninterrupted plane, which shank carries a gravitating end piece constructed so that its end will move below the plane of the bearing-face of the shank, and hence seat itself snugly upon the table or feedboard, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the shank 16, of the gravitating end piece, 8, sliding plate 3, and adjusting-screw 12, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

D. WEOKERLIN.

Witnesses:

ROBERT (Joel-IRAN, CHAS. W. CARPENTER. 

